Dreams Of Sand
by Gaara's Plaything
Summary: After the war with the Akatsuki, Shukaku is returned to Gaara, who goes mad and flees into the desert. A few years later Sakura happens upon him and begins a tentative interraction with him. GaaSaku. Rated M for future lime fluff and lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**This is an absolutely brilliant idea I had, I think. It was inspired by a picture of Gaara that I found where he's naked (insert nosebleed and/or drool) and sand is dripping off of him. Anyway, enjoy this as much as I do!**

**Naruto stuff isn't mine.**

_**Dreams Of Sand**_

**Chapter One**

Standing on the windswept plain, a lone figure gazed out over the expanse of the desert, sighing. This was the first time in years that this person, Haruno Sakura, a medical kunoichi from Konoha, had been to this place, and she felt a little nostalgia for those times that had passed. Back then, she and her team mates, Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi, had journeyed to the land of wind to assist in the rescue of the fifth Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara, from the clutches of the Akatsuki. That organisation was gone now, defeated in a great battle outside of Konoha when they'd attempted to kidnap Naruto.

Naruto held within him the nine tailed fox, the Kyuubi demon spirit, and he was the last of the tailed demons that the Akatsuki had searched for. That last battle had been quite costly, and a lot of lives had been lost, but those people had gladly done so to defend their Hokage and keep the Akatsuki from their final goal.

They had been led by none other than the legendary Uchiha Madara, who had Naruto and Sakura's old team mate, Uchiha Sasuke by his side. This ultimate betrayal of his once best friend had been the last straw for Naruto, and the two had engaged in a deadly fight that had seen Naruto as the victor. And then they'd had to deal with Madara, who had not been easy to take out, but with the combined forces of Konoha and their ally Suna, they'd managed to win the day.

Sakura sighed at her thoughts. There was really no point in all of this reminiscing, she had a mission to accomplish. So she moved forward, heading for Suna, her destination. There was an important scroll to deliver to the Kazekage, though that role was now taken by two people. Not long after the war with the Akatsuki, the demon Shukaku had somehow been returned to Gaara, and he'd gone mad. Attempts to contain him had failed, and he'd fled out into the desert. Now Temari and Kankurou ruled jointly in his stead, but they still held out hope that their brother would someday return.

Making her way across the vast expanse of the desert, Sakura was unaware of a pair of eyes that were watching her.

---------------------------------

The one with no name watched the woman cross his desert. Quite often people would come into his domain, and the only reason he let them pass unmolested was because of a strange sensation he always felt whenever he saw another person. He couldn't explain it, but it made him feel good to know that there were other people, but he didn't want to go near them. Sometimes they saw him, but only from a distance, and only because he let them. Otherwise, he was determined to remain alone.

He'd lost track of how long he'd been out here by himself. He couldn't remember anything about his life before. Had he been one of those people who just went about their lives? Or perhaps he'd been someone of importance? In either case, he was no one now, he didn't even know his own name.

The only companion he had was a strange voice in his head that whispered things he couldn't understand. What he did know, though, was that this voice was responsible for his lack of memories. He'd been insane; that was his earliest memory. Now he'd managed to get a grip on his sanity, to push this... demon... to the back of his mind.

Spurred on by curiosity, he followed this woman as she made her way through the desert. Her pink hair had caught his attention. In all the time he'd watched people, not one of them had had hair like hers. He was fascinated. The longer he followed her, the closer he got until late in the afternoon, at which time she made a camp in a small oasis. Creeping along a hidden path, he watched as she set everything up, and followed her when she headed to the spring.

His eyes bugged out of his head and his nose bled when she stripped her clothes off, her naked form causing things to happen to him that he didn't understand. What was going on? What was this feeling? Creeping closer, he watched as she immersed herself in the water, his eyes roving over her as he stared at her, blood dripping freely from his nose.

---------------------------------

It was about half an hour before she reached the oasis that she felt someone following her. Sakura was about ready to turn and confront this person, when she realised that she knew who it was. Gaara. He was following her, but how could that be possible? Some people believed that he was dead, perhaps killing himself in the madness that had hit him when his demon had returned to him. Of course, the fact that he was currently following her disproved that theory.

Now, as she bathed in the spring of the oasis that was the last stop before Suna, Sakura could feel him watching her, and she didn't know what to make of it. Should she ignore him, or perhaps call out to him? A small part of her was quite embarrassed that he was peeking on her, but she felt that it was more important to act naturally, at least for the moment. But she didn't know how long it would all take.

What to do? Finally, Sakura decided that she would try to talk to him, and with that thought in mind, she got out of the spring and dressed. Once that was done, she performed a few hand seals and reappeared behind him. Her sudden disappearance had obviously confused him, but he whirled around to face her when she spoke his name.

"Gaara."

He stared at her wide eyed, backing away slightly when she held out her hand. "It's ok, Gaara," she told him. "I won't hurt you."

He stared at her hand like it would bite him at any moment, then spoke in a raspy voice, "Gaara. Is that my name?"

Sakura frowned. He had amnesia? It made sense, she supposed. Shukaku's return might have fried a few brain cells, and his mind might have blocked the memories to protect itself. Lowering her hand, she studied him. He was filthy, and only wore a rag that looked like it had once been pants, but the desert's harsh climate had all but ruined it. Yet despite that, he looked quite healthy. He was just filthy and nearly naked.

"Yes," she told him. "Sabaku no Gaara, that's your name. There are a lot of people that are worried about you, Gaara. They would be glad to know that you are ok."

He cocked his head at this. "Worried?"

Sakura nodded. "Your brother and sister, for starters," she told him. "Temari and Kankurou really miss you, as does the rest of your village."

"My village?" He looked confused.

"Yes, your people," Sakura said. "The village hidden in sand, Suna. You were their leader."

The look on his face nearly broke her heart. It was so lonely. Inner Sakura was alternating between crying her eyes out for him and drooling over the muscles of his bare chest. Sakura was a little distracted by it as well, but she was determined to maintain her focus. She was determined to help Gaara and ignore anything else at this moment.

"Would you like to go back to the village?" she asked.

Gaara looked uncertain, not to mention quite lost. "It's alright, they'll be glad to see you."

He shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "I can't go back. I can't!"

The panicked look in his eyes convinced Sakura that he was about to run, so she quickly attempted to soothe him. "It's ok, you don't have to if you don't want to," she assured him, and was relieved when he relaxed.

Bit by bit she coaxed him to the camp she had made, and even managed to get him to hold her hand on the way there. Really, he was like an innocent child the way he was acting, and if it hadn't been for the fact that he'd been watching her naked before, she'd be tempted to think that perhaps he'd regressed to his childhood. Eventually he calmed enough to accept food from her, and they ate together in silence.

All the while he was staring at her. He seemed to have a fascination with staring, and there was no way right now that she was going to stop him. His eyes roamed from top to bottom, as if memorising what she looked like. It was a little disconcerting, but Sakura forced her discomfort aside. She didn't want to do anything to scare him off. As far as she knew, this was the first time in the last three years that anyone had gotten this close to him.

Finally their meal was finished, then Gaara startled her by asking a question. "Why did you go in the water?"

Sakura looked into his eyes and carefully gauged her words. "I was making myself clean," she told him.

He frowned. "Clean?"

Carefully Sakura moved forward and took hold of his arm. He flinched slightly, but let her do it. Holding his up, she brought hers up next to it.

"You see the difference between our arms?" she asked him. "There is a lot of sand and dirt on yours, but none on mine. That means that my arm is clean, and yours is dirty. But you could fix that if you used water like I did before."

She released his arm and moved back. He stared at his arm, brows wrinkled with intense thought as if trying to determine the meaning of all this. Then he stood abruptly and took off in the direction of the spring. Swearing under her breath, Sakura got up and followed him.

**Did you like it? Hope so. Please review, I wanna know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh, by the way, did I tell you that I already had a second chapter done? I didn't? Oh well, I did, and here it is!**

**To answer all the questions I've gotten; the picture is on deviant art and yes, it's the one I'm using for my avatar. Notice that while he's naked, you can't actually see anything, but he is still hawt! Enjoy the chapter!**

**I do not own the rights to Naruto.**

**Chapter Two**

Gaara stood at the edge of the spring, contemplating the water before him. Should he go in? That voice was telling him not to, and then turning completely on itself and saying he should. So it was up to him, then. Tentatively he dipped a toe in, and shuddered at the coldness of it. The cold was something he was used to. Night was always freezing, but he had a few places that were sheltered from it. This was the first time he'd ever not been at one of them at night.

The sun had started setting while he'd watched the woman bathe. It occurred him that she hadn't told him her name, but it didn't matter. He was still dealing with the fact of his own name. Gaara. He liked it a little, especially when she said it. It rolled off her tongue in a way that sent a shiver along his spine. Vaguely he sensed her come up behind him, and he turned around.

"Do you want to go in?" she asked, and he nodded.

"You took you clothes off when you went in," he remarked. "Do I have to?"

She shrugged. "If you want."

Turning back around, Gaara resolutely pushed away the cloth that he had around his hips. A gasp from behind him had him turning around to see her holding her nose and trying not to look at him. Her cheeks were red for some reason, and he frowned. Was she not feeling well? She noticed him looking at her and she smiled.

"It's ok," she said. "Go in if you want."

Turning back around, Gaara took a few tentative steps into the water, and once he was in, found he actually enjoyed it. The woman came to sit on a rock, still holding her nose, and handed him something weird.

"It's soap," she told him. "You rub it over you to help get the dirt off."

Why was she holding her nose? Did he smell that bad? He asked her, but she shook her head.

"I've just got a nose bleed," she told him.

Vaguely he recalled that he'd had one while he was watching her earlier. Did watching a naked person do that? He shrugged to himself and used the soap as she'd said, and marvelled at the way the dirt just came off. It was amazing. Eventually he'd used the soap everywhere, and he put it on the rock beside her and got out of the spring. She let out a little yelp and grabbed her nose again. Really, being naked was very dangerous for other people.

---------------------------------

She couldn't help it. The sight of Gaara naked was putting very bad thoughts into Sakura's head. These thoughts were, naturally, being voiced by her inner, who wanted very much for her to jump Gaara's bones. But this was a very delicate situation, and had to be handled carefully. Even though he was opening up to her, his almost flight at the mere mention of returning to Suna showed that the slightest thing could send him running again.

The nosebleed was extremely annoying, though, and it intensified when he got out of the spring and came towards her in all his naked glory. It was almost too much for her to stand. He frowned at her, his eyes on her nose and she realised that he was probably curious about why her nose was bleeding. But she didn't feel like talking about it.

Gaara reached for the raggy clothes that he'd been wearing and Sakura frowned. He really needed something new and clean to wear. Maybe if she could convince him to stay here, she could quickly go to Suna and get him some. The thought of the village reminded her about her mission and the scroll, and she sighed at the thought.

"Come on," she said, standing up. "Let's get back to the camp."

Waiting for his nod, she carefully led the way back once more, ever mindful of the fact that if he so chose to, he could easily run off again. Once they'd returned to the camp, Sakura watched calmly as Gaara sat near the fire and she sighed at the almost imperceptible shiver that he gave. Where on earth had he been sleeping this whole time? Serious doubts and questions about everything that had happened to him over the past three years began filling her mind, but she decided to deal with them all one at a time. Reaching into her pack, she pulled out a travelling cloak and held it out to him.

He looked at her curiously. "What is this?" he asked.

"A cloak," she told him. "You looked a little cold, so you should put it on."

Tentatively he took it from her and wrapped it around himself. Inwardly she smiled as she saw him relax a little. At least he wasn't going to freeze to death tonight. Maybe. Then another thought occurred to her.

"My name's Sakura," she said, catching his attention. "I forgot to tell you before. My name is Sakura."

"Sakura."

Her name rolled off his tongue like honey, and she felt an involuntary shiver from it.

---------------------------------

The woman, Sakura, shivered, and Gaara wondered if she was cold. Did she have another cloak to use? In any case, he liked her name. Sakura. It was very pretty. Like her.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"A little," she told him, "but I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

He nodded, accepting her words. It was quite strange for him to be here, interacting with another person. But he was determined to see this through. He wanted to know if he could handle being around another person for a certain amount of time, and this was the perfect opportunity. Her words earlier about returning to this Suna had spooked him, but maybe another time, once he was ok with being around someone else.

For the longest time, the two of them just sat there, saying nothing, and Gaara found himself enjoying the silence. But he wanted to talk with her, to learn more things, like he had with the 'clean' thing. But what to talk about? And how to start her talking on it? Maybe he should just ask a question, but he didn't know what he'd ask. It turned out that she had something to say herself.

"I have to go to Suna tomorrow," she said suddenly.

She was going? Gaara felt a strange sensation inside him, and figured that must be what sadness was. He was sad Sakura was going away.

"I came here on a mission," Sakura was saying, "and as a leaf shinobi, I am obligated to carry out my mission, but..."

The hesitation in her voice had him hoping that she was going to stay, but no such luck. "I'll go," she decided, "but I'll come back, if you want me to. I really want to keep talking to you, Gaara."

_No, don't go!_ his mind cried, and he was startled at the intensity. After all this time of being alone, and finally he has some human interaction, and he didn't want it to end. But she said that she wanted to come back, wasn't that enough? It would have to be, because he still didn't want to return to this 'Suna.' He just didn't want to be alone anymore.

"Come back," he whispered, and he felt an overwhelming happiness when she smiled.

"Great," she said. "I'll even bring some clothes back for you, so you have some stuff to keep you warm at night, ok?"

Gaara nodded, anything so that she would come back, but her next words had him shrinking back in on himself a little. "I'll have to tell people about you being here," she told him. "I'm sure they'll want to see you, especially Temari and Kankurou."

"No."

The word was simply stated and easy to understand, and Gaara saw the disappointment and acceptance in Sakura's eyes at that one vehement word.

"Alright," she agreed, reluctantly, he could tell. "If you don't want that, I'm sure they'll be willing to wait until you're ready. They love you enough for that."

Knowing that there was someone out there that loved him that much, Gaara was almost willing to throw everything to the wind and let them come, but he didn't think he'd be able to handle it. One person talking to him and interacting with him was all that he felt he could handle right now.

---------------------------------

Sakura was more than a little disappointed that Gaara didn't want to see his family, but a small part of her, a rather selfish part, was glad. The progress she'd made was astonishing, and she credited most of it to the fact that, over time, he'd probably managed to regain his grasp on his sanity. It had been three years, after all. That was plenty of time to take hold of one's own faculties. The initial shock of Shukaku's return had clearly worn off quite awhile ago, and Gaara seemed ready for human interaction.

But obviously not enough for more than one person, and for some unknown reason, he'd latched on to her, and the progress that had been made was too precious to be lost. Gaara was staring at her now, and Sakura wondered what she was going to do about sleep. Was Shukaku still preventing him from sleeping? There was only one way to find out.

"Gaara," she asked, directing his eyes to her face instead of where his had been (ahem!). "Um... do you sleep at all?"

He stared at her for so long that she wondered if she'd have to repeat the question, but finally he answered, "Yes."

She was mildly surprised by this. It was logical to assume that he didn't, since Shukaku'd prevented it in the past, but the fact that he did was quite astonishing. "Do you dream?" she asked.

He cocked his head in confusion. "Dream?"

Sakura nodded her head. "Dream," she repeated. "When people sleep, they dream. It's images and stuff that you experience when you sleep."

Comprehension flickered over his features and she could have sworn that there was a little fear as well. "I dream," he said. "Sometimes. I dream of being alone, of hurting people and of blood and sand."

Sakura knew from a medical standpoint from years ago that when Gaara'd first had Shukaku removed, his sleep patterns had been erratic and he'd frequently had nightmares. Were those same dreams plaguing him now? He answered her unspoken question.

"I used to dream them a lot, but it's less now," he told her. "I don't dream much anymore."

For some time they say there in silence, then finally Sakura yawned, and she knew she had to get some sleep, and soon.

"You're tired," Gaara stated suddenly, startling he a little.

Sakura nodded. "I need to sleep," she agreed.

As she made her preparations, Gaara watched her keenly, and she suddenly realised that he was probably going to need to sleep as well. "Do you want to sleep as well?" she asked, and he nodded.

It was lucky that she'd brought an extra sleeping bag with her. Sakura had remembered how cold the desert could be at night, and she wasn't a big fan of freezing to death. It was not an option. So she pulled out her spare one as well, and showed Gaara how to use it.

**Ok, I don't have the next chapter done, so I'll get to it, along with my other ones too, of course. Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Damn it! I really should be working on my other fics, but my brain has been melted! All I can think about right now is GaaSaku! Not that that's a bad thing, but I feel horrible, like I've abandoned the other ones. (NOT that I have! I just need to concentrate, even though it's not working)**

**Still, at least it's not like I can't think at all, it's just that I can't get my brain off of Gaara and Sakura. Oh well. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

**I don't own Naruto stuff, though I wish I did! (Don't we all?)**

**Chapter Three**

This thing that Sakura said was called a sleeping bag was incredibly weird, Gaara decided. But it felt like it would be comfortable, so he was definitely prepared to give it a shot. When Sakura put hers close to the fire, he moved his to the same spot, earning a strange look from her. He wondered what it was for, but it had disappeared quickly, like she'd decided that whatever the problem was, she wasn't going to worry about it.

Before going to sleep, it seemed that she still had things to do. He watched in fascination as she brushed her hair, his fingers itching to reach out and run through those mesmerizing pink locks. This new feeling was totally weird, and he had no real idea what to do about it, so he did nothing. Once she was finished, she slid her frame in to the sleeping bag, and he followed suit.

Gaara closed his eyes, intent on letting his mind fall into his usual sleep pattern. But for some reason, he couldn't relax enough. The presence of Sakura, mere inches from him, was actually causing his muscles to tense, and he didn't know why. Her presence was soothing, so why couldn't he sleep? Turning to ask her, his words stuck in his throat as he realised that her face was extremely close to his.

Her eyes were closed, but he could tell that she wasn't relaxed, either. His breath shortened as he stared at her, still refusing to open her eyes. She was trying to force herself to sleep, he realised, and he began to wonder if she was feeling the things that he was feeling, too.

Whatever they were.

---------------------------------

Why wouldn't he fall asleep? He told her that he slept; why oh why wasn't he doing it now? Sakura could feel Gaara staring at her, and the nerves it was causing was keeping her from her own slumber. _Just go to sleep!_ she mentally yelled at him, desperately trying not to crack an eye open to look at him again. It was incredibly tempting to simply open her eyes and stare back at him, but she was doing her best to fight it.

After what seemed like hours, she felt his breathing relax and she knew that he'd fallen asleep. Risking it all, she opened an eye a crack and took a peek. He was so close to her. Not so close that they were _too_ close, but close enough. Carefully she studied him. He definitely looked older than the last time she'd seen him. That had been almost six years ago. They hadn't crossed paths during the war. She'd been at the triage sight mostly, and then the hospital afterwards. Gaara wasn't the sort who'd need any medical help, so they hadn't seen each other.

Sakura let out a shaky sigh. It was extremely difficult to relax right now, with him so close like this. _'Jump his bones!'_ Inner crooned. _'You know you want to!'_

_Shut up you little tart!_ Sakura snapped, and Inner fell mercifully silent. Acting on impulse, she reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from Gaara's face before closing her eyes again and finally, mercifully, falling asleep.

---------------------------------

The following morning, Gaara woke to find that at some time during the night, they'd moved even closer, and their sleeping bags had come undone. Right now, his arms were around her, holding her close, and he had no inclination to let her go, either. Sakura's breathing was relaxed, and the position she was lying in caused her breath to sweep along his neck, giving him pleasant shivers. She mumbled incoherently and snuggled closer to him, and he decided that he rather liked the way they were.

He was fascinated by her proximity. Reaching up, he touched his fingers to her face, riveted by the way she responded. She mumbled again and shifted closer, then Gaara moved his fingers to trace a path along her chin before letting his hand fall as he resumed his study of her features.

He had no true concept of what beauty was, but he decided that to him, Sakura was beautiful. Her features were soft, and yet hard at the same time. There was un underlying strength to her that he'd noticed yesterday and a kindness as well. Would anyone else have been so patient with him? He was being difficult, he knew, about not returning to Suna, yet she had accepted that he refused to return.

Eventually the woman sleeping in his arms stirred and woke, her eyes fluttering open and coming into direct contact with his own. They simply stared at each other a moment before realisation struck her and she attempted to pull back, but almost at the same moment, she froze in her actions, staring at him. Had she seen the hurt in his face? Because, for some inexplicable reason, he felt hurt that she'd pulled away from him.

---------------------------------

Sakura stared into the eyes of the male holding her to him. Her first instinct had been to pull away, she'd been terribly embarrassed to find herself in such an intimate position with him. She could _feel_ him as he held her, and it was doing things to her. Then she saw the look in his eyes at her retreat, the hurt, the pain and the loneliness, so she'd stopped moving away. It was difficult, though, to think straight with him holding her like that.

"Gaara?"

She spoke softly, not wanting to startle him. He was staring at her intently, and she knew if she moved away from him, it would undo everything that had happened so far. But if he didn't do something, _anything,_ soon, she was going to go crazy.

She just might anyway. What he chose to do was lift his hand to her face and touch her. Her breath hitched as his fingers moved to run through her hair, and a warm feeling began to pool inside of her. _Shit!_ she thought. _What am I going to do!?_ But there really was nothing she could do, not without pushing him away, and she couldn't risk that.

"Your hair," he murmured. "Why is it pink?"

Sakura almost choked at the question. _Why was her hair pink?_ Of all the things for Gaara to say, that was one of the least expected ones.

"Um... It's because of my genetics," she told him. "My mother has pink hair, and my aunt. My grandmother did too."

He brought a strand closer to him, studying it intently. "I like it," he said after a moment. "It's why I followed you."

"Really? Why?"

"I'd never seen pink hair before."

Well, that was no surprise. As far as she knew, it was only the women of the Inoue clan that had pink hair. Her mother's family was wide spread across the shinobi nations, and that explained to occasional pinkette out there. Sakura was more or less related to every one of them.

Gaara released her, then, and she carefully pulled away, watching his face carefully for any negative reactions. But he let her go without a fuss and she breathed a little easier when parted from him. Though she felt a little cold, too. Carefully she started to pack her things, gathering everything together and putting them away. He watched her as she did so; she could feel his eyes on her the whole time.

When she was done, Sakura sat down and pulled a ration bar out of her pack and started to eat. At the look on Gaara's face, she offered him one, and he accepted, following her suit and chewing on it. He pulled a face at it, though.

"I know, it's terrible," she said. "But they're nutritious and full of energy as well."

Nodding in acknowledgement, he continued to eat.

---------------------------------

It really was disgusting, this food that they were eating. While he knew that the stuff he usually ate wasn't exactly gourmet, it was still better than this. Roast lizard with dried berries from any one of the oasis's out here. His mouth watered slightly at the thought of it, and he promised himself that he would have some soon to make up for this awful fare. Maybe Sakura would like to try some too, when she came back.

The return of the knowledge that she was going away caused him to inhale sharply, and it earned a concerned look from his companion.

"Are you alright, Gaara?" she asked.

"You're going away today."

Her eyes lowered to the ground in front of her, and Gaara wished that she would look at him so he could see her eyes. "I have to," she said, and she sounded almost regretful. "But I'll be back."

She looked up at him, then, her gaze earnest. "Promise me you'll stay here, that you won't take off."

"I promise."

The smile that crossed her features lit her face up, and he inhaled sharply at the reaction it caused in him. He knew then that he'd do anything to make her smile like that again.

Sakura stood suddenly, and Gaara got to his feet as well. "It's time to go," she said softly, and he felt a pang in his heart.

She smiled at him. "I'll see you soon, ok?"

He nodded, rooted to the spot as she turned away from him and left the oasis.

---------------------------------

It was only going to take her a few hours to reach Suna. The sooner she got there, she knew, the sooner she could return to him. Sakura had a feeling about how Temari and Kankurou were going to react to the news about Gaara, all the aspects of it. They weren't going to like the fact that he didn't want to see him, but they would understand, she knew. Anything to get their little brother back.

Suna was in view, now, and she slowed her pace accordingly. She would have been spotted, she knew, and once she reached the gates, there were already three jounin waiting for her.

"State your purpose, Leaf-nin!" one of them barked sharply.

Sakura held out the scroll with the official seal of the Hokage on it. "I bear a scroll from the sixth Hokage," she stated, then said, "I also bear some news that Temari-san and Kankurou-san will want to hear in person."

The Sand nins before her frowned. "What else could Hokage-sama have to say that he couldn't put in the scroll?"

"It's not from Naruto," she told them. "It's about Gaara."

**Wow, what did you think? Temari and Kankurou will be in the next chapter, and we'll see how things go with them.**

**You know the drill, read and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I got a new chapter done. Enjoy!**

**I wish I owned Gaara and everyone else, but I don't! (sobs)**

**Chapter Four**

Temari was pacing frantically and Kankurou was gripping the armrests of the chair he was sitting in. They had listened to Sakura's story with patience, though she had (obviously) left out the bits where she was drooling over their little brother and such. As she'd predicted, they weren't happy with the fact that he didn't want to come back, or that he didn't want to see anyone else. Temari had been upset, but Kankurou had told her that Gaara probably just wasn't ready for that yet.

Now, they were deciding what to do, and Sakura was thinking that it should be obvious. They give her the things she needed, let her return and work on getting Gaara back here as quickly and as carefully as possible. But she knew that it wouldn't be that easy.

"I want to see him," Temari suddenly declared, and Sakura saw Kankurou roll his eyes in the corner of her own.

"He'll run," Sakura warned her. "There might not be another opportunity like this."

So many conflicting emotions flickered over Temari's face, but in the end, she hung her head in defeat. "I miss him," she whispered.

"And I don't?" Kankurou stood as he spoke, moving over to his sister and taking hold of her shoulders. "This is the opportunity that we've been waiting for. We don't want to mess it up by rushing in and scaring him off now, do we?"

Temari accepted her brother's hug and mumbled, "No."

Kankurou turned to Sakura and said, "Take what you need, just bring him home, ok?"

"What about the elders?"

That was a good question. "I don't think we should tell them just yet," Kankurou said. "They'll want to go in, and it will be worse than it already is."

Sakura glared at him, and he amended by saying, "I just meant the fact that he doesn't want to see anyone! It was just lucky that you got so close to him anyway. No one else has."

Placated for the moment, Sakura backed down and relaxed, but not for long. "Oh, shit!" she exclaimed suddenly, and the other two jumped at the volume. "How could I have forgotten? Oh, she is going to kill me! I'm dead, I'm sooo dead!"

---------------------------------

It was sooo frustrating, waiting for her to return! He wanted to see her, to ask her questions and to touch her face again! Gaara paced along the side of the spring, his thoughts chaotic. He was missing Sakura, and he didn't like the feeling that was growing inside him. What if she didn't come back? What if she left him out here all alone again? That thought almost had him rushing off to Suna to bring her back. Almost.

That voice inside him was urging him to go get her, drag her back here and _make_ her stay, but he couldn't. The mere thought of getting too close to other people had him freezing in his tracks, and that 'voice' scoffed at him, then laid in thick with curses. This was the most vocal it had been since he regained enough of his sanity to function, and Gaara was more than a little concerned. Why did it want Sakura?

Suddenly pain shot through his head and he gripped it tightly in his hands, falling to his knees from the pain. No! He recognised this from the earlier times, when the voice tried to make him do what it wanted him to do. But he refused to give in.

_Foolish boy!_ it hissed. _Let me out!_

_NO!_

_We have to go get her! Make_ _her come back! Do you _want_ to be alone again?_

_She'll come back! _he yelled at it. _She promised me!_

_Promises mean nothing! _it hissed once more. _You have to _make_ her come back!_

Using as much force as he could, Gaara mentally pushed this thing away, regaining control. The pain faded, too, and he could only hope that Sakura would come back soon.

---------------------------------

"Sakura! Calm down! Who is going to kill you?"

Temari and Kankurou looked extremely worried, but there was no way they could understand. At least, not until she said...

"Tsunade-shishou is going to murder me!"

Comprehension crossed over their faces, and they looked a little worried, especially Kankurou, who was probably remembering the time that he'd been launched off the Hokage's tower when he'd inadvertently insulted the older woman.

"But why?" Temari asked. "It's not like she's Hokage anymore. That's Naruto's job, now."

"I know, but that's not the point!" Sakura exclaimed. "The anniversary of Jiraiya's death is coming up, and I promised her I'd be there for her! I don't know how long all of this stuff with Gaara is going to take. It could be weeks! _Months!_"

She was clearly panicking, but neither Temari nor Kankurou knew what to say, then Temari tempted the fates and said, "Then she'll just have to deal with it."

Sakura and Kankurou gaped at her, mortified at the idea, and she went on, "I'm sure that she'll understand, Sakura. I just know that she would want you to do this. Bringing Gaara back here is very important. She'll forgive you."

"And if not," Kankurou added, "you could always bribe her with saké!"

That comment earned him a double-whammy whack over the head. That is, both Temari and Sakura hit him, hard.

Sighing, Sakura admitted defeat. "I just know she's going to hurt me," she moaned as she followed the siblings out of the office.

---------------------------------

He was standing at the edge of the oasis, watching and waiting for her return. For the last, he didn't know how long, Gaara had been standing there, hardly moving, just waiting for any sign that Sakura was coming back. So far, nothing. Sighing, he allowed himself a moment to relax, gathering his thoughts together. Since the little 'incident' earlier, that voice hadn't tried anything more. But now, as he stood there contemplating the desert, he wondered if maybe it was right.

Should he go and get her? And yet, if she was already coming back on her own, what would it accomplish? She had promised that she would come back, and _he_ had promised that he would wait here for her. It was important to keep promises, he knew that much at least. But he wanted to see her again, and now. He wanted to reach up and touch her fascinating hair, to hear her voice as she explained something to him. Where was she? How long did it take to get to and from Suna, anyway? No, really, he had no idea. Maybe he was over-reacting.

_Maybe you like her in _that_ way!_

The voice was back, but what did it mean? _I mean, like mates,_ it said.

Mates? Like when he'd seen some of the desert animals do those things that he hadn't understood? The voice had gone into great detail then, and he remembered being embarrassed. _But why would I want to do that? _he wondered. _I'm not an animal._

_Even humans do it, _the voice told him. _It's only natural. But you should probably make sure that she wants to do that, too. If she doesn't, well, she'll probably punch your lights out._

Would Sakura really do that with him? He wanted her to, he realised. Then a thought occurred to him, and he didn't like it. What if she already had a mate?

_Tell me more, _he said, and he could have sworn he felt it smirk.

---------------------------------

Finally, Sakura was out of Suna! At this moment she was on her way back to the oasis, carrying food, clothing and a tent. She was going to take two, but with the other stuff she felt was necessary, it would have been too much to carry. Naturally she realised what would probably happen, her mind going back to that morning. Her Inner snickered in delight at the prospect of a repeat performance, and Sakura blushed at the thought.

She was still deciding on how much she should tell Gaara about who he was before. And what about Shukaku? How much should she say about the demon? Did he realise what was inside him? Maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea. Who would really want to hear that they carried a demon inside of them?

The oasis was nearly in sight, and Sakura felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought of seeing him again. Was he still there? Had she been gone too long? Temari and Kankurou had promised to send word to Konoha, so no one would think that something bad had happened to her. Naruto, she knew, would be overjoyed at the possibility of his best friend coming back.

Finally she could see it. Just on the horizon she spotted a green blur, and she picked up the pace. Nearly there! Once she was close enough to distinguish the trees individually, she slowed down and then stopped. How the hell was she going to do this? Sure, she'd taken psychology lessons, but it hadn't really prepared her for something like this! Maybe after all of this was over, she'd get stuck in to it again.

For now, she would have to make do. Sakura started walking again, slower this time, and she began to mentally go over everything, trying to figure out how she would play this.

---------------------------------

A strange feeling ran along his spine, causing Gaara to sit up, alert. Rushing back to the edge of the oasis, he felt his heart start to beat faster at the sight before him. She was back! He could see Sakura making her way towards him, and he felt elation that she'd kept her promise. He had, too. He was still here. Watching her, he felt the other inside of him stir, but he pushed him away. This was _his_ moment, and he didn't want any interruptions.

Finally she reached him, and she smiled. "You're still here," she observed, and her smile widened.

Gaara's breath caught in his throat and he let himself smile too. "You came back," he said.

"Naturally," she replied, and suddenly his life didn't feel so lonely any more.

**Well, now you've got lime and fluff to look forward to in the next chapter, but no lemon. Not yet. Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter two is ready for your perusal, and I hope that you like it! Enjoy.**

**Naruto and co do not belong to me.**

**Chapter Five**

Sakura set everything up at the campsite, hyper-aware of Gaara staring at her. He'd been doing that ever since she'd gotten back, and it was more than a little disconcerting. Sure, he'd stared at her before, but this was more... possessive? No, that probably wasn't the right word. Or was it? She wasn't sure.

One thing she did know was that if he kept staring at her like that, she was going to scream.

"I'm glad you came back," Gaara said suddenly, and Sakura turned to look at him.

"I made a promise," she told him. "I always try to keep my word. A friend taught me that."

"Friend?"

"It's a person that you know that you're close to, someone who is there for you when you need them."

Gaara cocked his head, thinking. "Are we friends?" he asked.

Sakura smiled. "I hope so," she said. "We weren't before, but that's just because we never really got to know one another."

"But we can now?" he asked, sounding incredibly hopeful.

She smiled at that. "Definitely."

He stood up suddenly from where he'd been sitting and watching her, and Sakura felt a little uneasy as he came to stand close to her. _Too_ close, actually. What was he doing? It was a moment before she decided to follow his gaze to see what he was looking at. Gaara was staring at the tent in front of her, and he had a curious expression on his face.

"What's that?" he asked, his extreme nearness causing his breath to tickle her ear.

"I-it's a tent," she stuttered slightly. "I was going to get it ready before the sun goes down."

Gaara looked up at the sky. "That should happen soon," he stated simply, then went around her to inspect the rolled up tent.

Sakura knelt down to undo the knots, and once they were undone, she spread the tent out and began to set it up. Gaara watched her intently as she did this, and when she was done, he poked it, as if trying to figure out how it had all happened.

"Amazing," he said, and she smiled.

Next, there came the clothes that she'd brought for him. He stared at them, as if trying to figure out what they were, and he looked uncertain about whether or not he should touch them.

"They're not going to hurt you," Sakura told him. "They're just clothes. You can wear these instead of what you have right now."

Gaara looked down at the rag that hung on his hips, and before she could say anything else, he'd pushed it off of him and once more stood before her completely naked. Almost immediately Sakura let out a shriek, her hand flying to her nose as the blood started dripping. Then she started to panic when he came closer to her and there was nothing she could do but stare as he took the clothes from her.

"How do they work?" he asked, almost causing her to hyperventilate at the images those four innocent little words called up.

---------------------------------

Her nose was bleeding again. Gaara was secretly pleased with her reaction, but wasn't entirely sure why. He figured it had something to do with what the voice had told him earlier during their chat about mates. Sakura's face was bright red, and he knew it was because he was naked. He'd figured that out _ages_ ago.

"How do they work?" he asked again, and she stared at him like he was crazy.

Maybe he was, but he'd gotten the reaction it had said he would.

"You want me to show you?" She sounded incredulous.

Eagerly he nodded, and she sighed. She carefully removed her hand from her nose and took the clothes back from him.

"This one first," she told him, holding up one. It was only a little bigger than the rag he'd been wearing. "This is called boxers, or boxer shorts. You put your legs in here," she indicated, "and then pull them up."

He looked at her blankly, and after a moment's silence, her face turned red. Hesitantly coming closer to him, Sakura held the boxers out before him and waited. After a moment, Gaara took them from her and put one leg through the top of them, then the other.

"You have to pull them up, like with what you wore before" she whispered, her voice barely audible as the red in her face deepened and she looked down and away.

Understanding better now, he did as she'd said, then looked down at these 'shorts'. It felt weird. The material it was made of was soft, and it brushed against his skin in a way that made him want to take them off. He didn't know if he liked it or not. Looking up at Sakura, he noticed that she still wasn't looking at him, and he took a step towards her.

Sakura's head shot up and she stared at him, wide-eyed, taking an involuntary step back, stumbling as she did. Gaara reached for her to stop her from falling, pulling her towards him and she landed against him with a soft 'oof!' and tried not to look at him. Their bodies were pressed close together, though not as close as they'd been that morning, and a strange sensation began to work its way through him.

Eventually Sakura's eyes moved upwards and for the longest moment, they simply stared at one another. There was something in her eyes that he couldn't identify, and he knew that there was something he was supposed to do at a time like this, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was. That stupid voice was conspicuously absent right now, and, since he had no idea what to do, he just stood there, and waited for Sakura to do something instead.

---------------------------------

'_Kiss him! Kiss him!'_

Sakura's inner was being extremely annoying, urging her to kiss the barely dressed 'hunk-o-flesh' before them, and damn, if she wasn't tempted! His lips were so close to hers, it would be a simple matter just to move that slight inch forward and press her lips to his. She swayed dangerously close to her temptation, not really sure of what she was doing.

'_Dammit! Just kiss him!' _her inner screeched, sounding remarkably like Ino. _'How often do you ever find yourself in a position to be with a gorgeous guy? Especially since you're such a workaholic!? You are totally no fun!'_

No fun? She was tons of fun, thank you! What about all those times she'd go out with Ino and the gang? _'I'm not talking about that kind of fun, and you know it!'_

So, for the first time in a long time, Sakura actually listened to her inner. Throwing all her psychology knowledge out of her head (which wasn't that much anyway), she leaned forward and let her lips brush lightly against Gaara's.

His immediate response was naturally surprise. His eyes widened, and for a moment, she was sure that he would pull away. But then his eyelids slowly dropped shut, and he stood there, letting her kiss him. She deepened the kiss, closing her own eyes as she ran her tongue over his bottom lip to encourage him to respond. When his lips parted, she darted her tongue into his mouth, finding his own and she kissed him thoroughly.

Sakura let her hands come up to his head, fingers sliding through his hair as his arms wrapped tentatively around her waist. Then Gaara was pulling her closer, returning her kiss ferociously as he attempted to meld their bodies into one. He pushed her against a tree, pressing into her almost desperately, and she could _feel _him as he practically ground into her. This was all moving so fast. _Too_ fast! She'd only meant to kiss him briefly, but now it was turning into an all-out snogging session.

Not that her inner was complaining. Actually, she wasn't really doing anything much. Just melting into a puddle of goo. One of her legs came up to wrap around him then, and Sakura properly felt just how much this was all affecting Gaara at this moment. He was aroused, and if she were to be honest with herself, she was too.

---------------------------------

Whatever they were doing, he liked it. Gaara wasn't sure exactly how he knew what to do, he just did. Maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was something you just never forgot how to do, even if you forgot everything else. Something was simply telling him how to do this, and he was listening. As he ground into Sakura again, he briefly remembered his earlier conversation with that voice thing. This seemed like a sign that maybe Sakura'd be open to the idea of being his mate. But he still had to find out if she already had one.

He had to be honest; he was more than a little worried that she did. But if she did, would all this be happening? Sakura let out a moan suddenly that had him losing his concentration, and his hands started to roam her curves of their own accord. One went down to cup the side of her bottom and the other came upwards, inadvertently slipping under her shirt instead of over it, cupping her breast.

And yet a small part of him felt that this was moving too quickly, and Gaara pulled away, searching Sakura's face to see if it was true. What he saw had him nearly undone. Passion. Desire. Confusion and confliction. Right now, her face was probably a mirror of his own, and he just knew that the only thing that could happen at the moment was the weird but pleasant thing they were doing with their mouths.

**Did you enjoy? Then review, please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Heya! I got a new chapter! I hope you enjoy reading this as my as I enjoyed writing it! (perverted snicker!)**

**WARNING!!! MATURE CONTENT AHEAD!! Lemon, near lemon, whatever!**

**I do not own the wonderful characters of the Naruto world.**

**Chapter Six**

She was thoroughly confused. Why had he stopped? Sakura was in a daze from the way Gaara had been kissing her. All she wanted to do was run her fingers through his hair and keep kissing him, but he had to go and stop. She sighed, catching his attention, and the look he gave her made her realise that maybe it was a good thing they'd stopped. Gaara looked even more confused than she felt.

"What was that, just then?" he asked.

"Y-you mean the kissing?" Sakura stuttered.

Gaara nodded. "Kissing," he repeated. "It felt nice."

Sakura blushed a little and looked away for a moment, trying to think. What were they supposed to do now? Did Gaara even understand what had really happened just then? Maybe she should ask him, but she felt so embarrassed at the thought of having a 'sex talk' with him.

"Um... Do you know why we did what we just did?" she asked.

Gaara was silent a moment, then she surprised her by saying, "It's like instinct, right? Like animals have when they mate, only a little different."

Sakura's jaw dropped more than a little. "How do you know that?" she asked, confused.

He pulled away from her, and she knew that she saw a look of worry in his eyes. "It told me," he whispered, and after a moment of confusion, realisation hit her like a ton of bricks.

Shukaku. It had to be.

She knew that in the past, Gaara had had conversations with the demon, just as she spoke to her own inner. Were they 'talking' again? How much was the demon saying? Gaara was, quite frankly, naive and child-like in the way he was dealing with things, but he knew that kissing was related to sex? Well, mating. But it was totally obvious that Shukaku would say mate instead. It was a base animal instinct...

And again, something else hit her like a ton of bricks. Not once had Gaara used anything remotely like a ninja technique. In fact, if she thought about it, he'd been surprised when she'd simply appeared behind him at the beginning of this little 'adventure.' Everything since then, Gaara seemed to be running on instinct, like an animal did. The kissing and talking of 'mates' was simply another thing to confirm this.

Pulling away from him, Sakura took hold of Gaara's hand and led him to the tent, ushering him in and sitting him down. "Gaara," she began, "this... voice. What has it told you about sex?"

He looked confused, and she clarified with, "Mating."

Understanding flickered, and he said, "It told me about it once when I saw some animals doing it. Then again, while you were gone before. It wants you to be my mate, and... so do I. But I thought that you might have one already..."

His voice trailed off, and Sakura sat there, digesting the information that Shukaku _and _Gaara wanted her for their mate.

---------------------------------

He saw the surprise in her eyes when he confessed, and a strange sensation grew in him at the thought that she would reject him. Sitting there, he waited for that to happen, and was quite surprised when her hand came up to cover his. Looking up, he saw that she was looking at him with a look that seemed to mirror everything that he was feeling. Did this mean...? Did she want to...? Gaara sucked in a breath and held it, waiting for her response.

"Gaara, I..." Sakura fell silent a moment, then continued, "Before this goes any further, I want you to understand something. This voice you hear, do you know what it is?"

He frowned. Why was she talking about that? "No," he admitted, and she sighed.

"I don't know how to tell you this..." she started, but he interrupted.

"Then don't," he told her. "Just let me know if you have a mate already. I need to know."

Sakura looked down and away, a thoughtful look on her face as she frowned. "I... I don't have one now," she told him, "but I did once. He's gone now, though."

Gaara frowned now. "Gone?" he asked, and she nodded.

"He died in a great war," she admitted. "But I've come to terms with it. I mean, after all, it wasn't official or anything. We just... got together every now and then, that's all."

Not official? What was the difference? They were together then, were they not? But Gaara resolutely pushed that from his mind. He still wanted to know if she would be his mate, so he decided to ask again.

"Sakura," he said, catching her attention. "Will you be my mate?"

Sakura turned red again. Blushing, the voice had called it. Looking away again, she nodded, and Gaara felt an overwhelming sensation fill him at her acceptance of him.

---------------------------------

She was horribly embarrassed, yet filled with a sense of anticipation at the same time. Gaara leaned towards her and kissed her, an action that had Sakura thinking that he was a quick learner. Melting in to the kiss, she allowed him to completely overwhelm her senses before she pulled back, ignoring the look on his face at her retreat.

"Gaara, I..."

"Shh," he whispered, leaning in for another kiss.

He sounded so... seductive. Had Shukaku told him what to do? Was he guiding his actions even now? Gently he pushed her back to the floor of the tent, shifting so that he lay over her. His kiss deepened, and Sakura responded to him by returning it, her fingers coming up to run through his hair. Gaara pressed himself into her, and she moaned as they made contact, slightly breaking the kiss, but he reclaimed her lips again.

This was wrong. Oh, not that they were about to do it. That felt so _right _to her. No, it was the fact that she needed to tell him the truth about Shukaku. She didn't want to do anything like this until he understood.... Sakura let out a startled gasp. Without her realising it, Gaara had yanked down her shorts, and his fingers had just slipped inside her.

"G-Gaara!" she cried as he began sliding his digits in and out of her. Her hips bucked into his hand, and she was vaguely aware that, not only had he removed her shorts while her attention had wandered, but everything that she'd been wearing was gone now. Gaara's mouth was firmly attached to her breast, and the sensation of both his lips and his fingers were driving her over the edge. In a dazzling burst of white light, Sakura reached her orgasm, crying out Gaara's name in the process.

He moved over her then, and probably would have entered her, but Sakura pushed him away. Confusion was all over his face, but by now, Sakura had figured that they were already well enough into it, so she pushed him down and straddled him, kissing him before moving down his body. A sharp intake of breath met her actions as Gaara let her grasp him. She knew a lot about how to please a man, and took advantage of her knowledge as she massaged his erect member.

Gaara was groaning as Sakura gripped him, then she lowered her head and took as much of him as she could into her mouth.

---------------------------------

Whatever she was doing, he liked it. A lot. Gaara could feel his body reacting to her ministrations, though he nearly lost it when Sakura started to use his mouth. Every tip the voice had given him, he intended to use, but this, the way Sakura was handling him, that was something the voice had omitted. _Her _giving _him _pleasure hadn't even crossed his mind, but now that it was happening, he really, really liked it.

A tightening sensation started to grip him, and white lights flashed in his mind, then Gaara felt himself spill into Sakura's mouth, something that didn't seemed to faze her. She just swallowed then licked him clean, moving up afterwards to kiss him thoroughly.

"Gaara?" she said after awhile. "I really do need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" he asked, a little curious.

"It's, um, about that voice you spoke of," she told him, and a feeling of panic hit him. "I need to tell you something about it."

"Why?" he asked. Not really wanting to hear it. All he wanted was to mate her properly. Why did they have to talk about that stupid voice?

Propping herself up on her elbows, Sakura stared down at him and spoke, "I don't want secrets between us, if we're going to be mates."

No secrets? What did she mean? Maybe he should listen to her about this after all. Sitting up, he looked at her, waiting, and saw the uncertainty and worry in her eyes. Why was she worried? Was there something really bad about the voice? He listened as she spoke, a feeling like agony creeping into him as she spoke.

---------------------------------

Sakura told Gaara all about Shukaku, how the village had sealed the demon into him while he was still in the womb. She told him what she knew of his life as a jinchuriki, then of how Naruto changed him for the better. Recounting what had happened with the Akatsuki had him shaking visibly, then when she told him about the demon's return...

"So, the voice is the demon?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Don't let it get to you too much," Sakura practically begged. "From what you've told me, he doesn't really have much control. I mean, you can actually sleep, after all!"

But that didn't seem to be helping. Then a thought occurred to her, and she said, "With the whole 'voice in your head' thing, I can understand that."

Gaara looked up at her sharply, disbelief and a little anger in his expression.

Quickly, Sakura explained, "I have a kind of alter-ego inside me, like another me that I conjured up when I was a child. I was picked on a lot, and one day I stood up to the bullies and my Inner was born. Though I've learned since then that's it's actually a mild case of schizophrenia, but that's not the point."

Gaara was still staring at her, and after a long moment, he whispered, "So, we both have voices in our heads?"

Sakura nodded, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek. "We're the same that way," she told him gently. "Who cares that yours is a demon and mine is a medical condition? It doesn't matter."

A thought occurred to her and she smiled. "Your best friend, Naruto," she spoke. "He's got a demon in him as well, and he's the Hokage of my village, just as you're Kazekage."

That had done it. Gaara looked up at her, albeit with an indecipherable look, and he kissed her. He pushed her back to the ground and Sakura knew this was it. Now, they were going to officially be mates.

**So, Gaara's a little more mature. I think that maybe his 'talk' with Shukaku started his maturing, plus all this sexual interaction is **_**definitely **_**going to do that a little. Also, cliffie! Heh heh! Now you gotta wait for them to do it, cuz I'm gonna work on my other fics before I get back to this! (I'm so mean!)**

**Oh, by the way, don't forget to vote on the poll on my profile for which of my stories is your favourite. Right now, An Unintentional Concept is in the lead!**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Third last chapter! Yay!**

**WARNING!!! Lemons ahead. And a rather disturbing 'where do babies come from' talk. Kinda.**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter Seven**

Despite the fact that he'd been more than a little forward with her, Gaara was extremely nervous about mating with Sakura. It was obvious from what she'd said that she'd done this before, but he couldn't remember if _he _had. What if he did something wrong? What if he didn't bring her enough pleasure? A low growl sounded in the back of his mind, and he knew it was that... demon... Shukaku. Pushing away both the demon and his thoughts, Gaara returned his attention to Sakura.

Pressing himself into her as much as he could, Gaara deepened their kiss the way she had earlier, by inserting his tongue into her mouth. Sakura moaned in response and her own tongue came up to meet his, and they kissed furiously for awhile before they broke apart, the need for air forcing them to take a momentary break.

Gaara stared down at his new mate. Her face was flushed and her hair a perfect messy frame around her head, making her look so much more beautiful. He decided that he like Sakura all tousled and flustered, but he wanted her to be even more so. Leaning down, he captured her lips once more, lingering briefly before moving over her chin and along her neck. Her head tilted back slightly, giving him better access as he moved down, stopping just above her breasts.

His hands wandered south, caressing her thighs as she parted automatically beneath him, her legs spreading apart to accommodate his presence, and all of a sudden, Gaara was struck with performance anxiety. But an extremely hot and bothered Sakura wasn't going to let him off that easily. Reaching down, she grasped him in her hands, and the sudden sensation was enough to get him going again.

---------------------------------

Frustration was driving her, so she grabbed hold of him, guiding him to her entrance. Sakura was going crazy with her need, and her actions got her the desired results. Finally, Gaara pushed into her, and they were joined.

It had definitely been awhile for her, and Sakura shifted slightly, reacquainting herself with the sensation of having someone buried deep within her. Almost hesitantly, Gaara began to thrust himself inside of her, and she moved her hips up to meet him. Her hands ran along his back and down to his bottom, which she cupped. He shivered in response, and began moving faster within her.

Heat that had pooled in her stomach was increasing with each thrust, and soon enough, Sakura couldn't form a single coherent thought. Not that she would want to. Gaara's powerful yet still quite hesitant strokes were rendering her incapable of doing anything but moan, whimper and scratch his back. Slowly Gaara's thrusts gained confidence, and soon he was pounding into her like there was no tomorrow.

With absolutely no warning beforehand, he suddenly bit deep into her shoulder, deep enough to draw blood. She cried out at the sudden pain, even though it didn't hurt too much, it was just a shock. And then he wouldn't let go of her, either. His teeth kept a hold in her neck as he thrust more and more frantically within her, and soon, she was screaming his name. For some reason, his biting was causing her more pleasure. Probably because she liked his bite.

Finally, a surge of absolutely intense pleasure washed over her, and Sakura came, hard, clamping down onto Gaara's member. After a few more thrusts, he released her neck as he also reached his peak, and she felt his warm essence spill into her. He collapsed on top of her, and they lay there like that for awhile. Sakura found she rather liked his weight atop her, but after a moment, he pulled out of her and rolled over onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow to look at her.

---------------------------------

He was worn out from their mating, sex as Sakura'd put it. He never would have believed that something could feel that good. No, it wasn't good. It was so much better. And that last bit, just before he felt something come out of him and go into her... He wondered what that stuff was. Maybe he could ask Sakura. Looking down, he saw that she was still a little out of breath, and he felt his male pride swell up at that fact.

She was staring back up at him, he suddenly noticed. As he watched her, she slowly sat up and for a moment, the two of them simply stared at one another. Then her hand came up to his face and she gently ran her fingers through his hair. The sensation was weird, but in a good way. Gaara could feel that part of him going slightly hard at her actions, and suddenly he wanted to throw her onto the ground and mate her again.

"Gaara," Sakura spoke, her voice distracting him from his thoughts. Only slightly. "Why did you bite my shoulder?"

He wasn't expecting her to ask _him _a question, and for a moment, he was at a loss. Finally he answered, "I don't know. It just felt right."

She nodded. "It's like I thought," she said. "Instinct. What Shukaku told you when you saw those animals? A lot of male animals bite females when they're mating, to keep them in place and prevent them from running off."

_That _was why he did it? He knew that what the... demon had told him was influencing him a lot, and perhaps the instinct of the beast within him was what had caused him to bite her. But he wasn't an animal! He hadn't done it to prevent her from getting away, though at the thought of Sakura trying to run from him, he felt conflicting emotions. He felt excited at the thought and thoroughly upset as well.

"I liked the bite, though," Sakura said suddenly, regaining his attention.

"You... liked it?" he asked.

She nodded, blushing a little. "It felt... good."

Gaara's lips curved upwards slightly, and he moved forward, nuzzling her neck and lightly grazing his teeth over her neck where he'd bitten her. Her felt her shiver, and instinctively knew that she really did like this. Pushing her back onto the floor of the tent, he felt the urge to once again be buried deep within her, and without warning, pushed her legs apart and thrust into her.

Sakura gasped at his actions, but immediately adjusted and began moving with him as he thrust. It took a little longer, but once again they reached that peak where he felt her clamp around him, and he shot something inside of her. Before he could recover, she pushed him, following him as she straddled him, grinding atop him until the pleasure began building up again, and they exploded once more.

---------------------------------

Damn, she was tiring! But Sakura refused to give in to her exhaustion! Three mind-blowingly intense orgasms in a row, and she was ready to collapse. This was the best sex she'd ever had, and while she was no slut, she had enough experience to be able to say that Gaara was one of the best lovers out there. Even without his memories, he still apparently knew how to fuck a girl senseless. Not that she thought of this as fucking, but it was so damned good, only love could make it better.

She wanted to fall in love with him, and thought perhaps that she already was. Her heart was certainly missing beats here and there when he said or did things. And then the way he was so innocent about things, but then was able to give her the most pleasurable sensations she'd felt in a very long time...

A hand on her cheek distracted her, and she looked up to see Gaara staring intensely down at her. Blushing slightly at the train of her thoughts, she was a little surprised to see him smirk. Again. He'd done it just before, and now here was that innocent little smirk that was catching her completely off guard. Kami, that damned thing was making her want to throw him to the ground!

"Sakura?" Gaara asked, his tone questioning and she forced herself to pay attention.

"Yes, Gaara?"

"I wanted to know..." he started uncertainly, "that is... when we mated, just before it was over, that feeling..."

"You mean the orgasm?" she asked. "That's what it's called."

He cocked his head at her. "Orgasm?"

Sakura nodded. "That rather intense but really good feeling," she told him.

"And that next bit?" he asked. "With the bits that came out?"

Sakura blushed suddenly, realising what he was asking. "Th-that stuff is what comes out after," she stuttered slightly. "It's for reproduction."

His forehead creased in slight confusion. "Reproduction?"

She nodded, still unable to get rid of her blush. "I-it's called semen for a guy," she told him, still stuttering. "Um... when two people have sex, the semen goes up so... um... th-then the woman can get pregnant. Have b-babies."

Kami, she was sooo embarrassed!

---------------------------------

Babies? Reproduction? Gaara was confused, though only a little. He wasn't really confused about the... reproduction. He was just confused because from the way she was saying it, him and Sakura were going to be having offspring. Little versions of themselves running around... He shivered slightly at the thought. It was an extremely appealing picture...

Putting his thoughts into words, Gaara asked, "Does that mean that we're going to have babies now?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she went a little pale, as if something had just occurred to her. "Um... maybe," she told him. "If it was the right time for it."

The right time? The question was probably written all over his face, because she elaborated, "I have to be... um... f-fertile. A woman isn't always fertile. It h-has to be the right time."

"Is it the right time?" Gaara asked, finding himself hoping that it was.

"Um... I don't know..."

She looked uncertain, and Gaara decided to pull her close to him. She melted into his embrace and they sat there for awhile, just holding one another until they both drifted off into sleep.

**Ok, not spell checking this! I gotta go to work! (Fingers crossed there are no or not too many mistakes!)**

**So... Sakura forgot about protection. Will be pregnant from this? I don't know yet. Maybe, maybe not. Probably won't say, there's not many chapters left anyway. Just two.**

**Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Slowly but surely I managed to finish this chapter! Now there's only one more to go!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter Eight**

The following morning Sakura woke with a crick in her neck, but otherwise she felt so damned good. The reason for it was already up, it seemed, and nowhere to be seen. But then again, she was in a tent, so her current visual range was nothing to write home about. So she sat up, rummaged around for clothes, then she crawled out of the tent, looking around for her missing lover.

Gaara was sitting by the fire, which looked like it had been out for hours. He seemed to be staring off into space, because he didn't notice her approaching him. She noticed that he'd put on some of the clothes she'd given him. Sakura walked to his side then placed her hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Are you alright?" she asked, and he nodded.

"I dreamed last night," he told her. "It was different than usual, though."

"What do you mean?" she encouraged, sitting down next to him, still touching his shoulder.

"I was floating in mid air," he told her, leaning into her touch. "I don't remember much about it, though. But I was definitely floating."

Hit by a small epiphany, Sakura realised that Gaara must've dreamt something that had happened before, because she knew that he'd been able to basically levitate with the help of his sand in the past. Maybe this was a sign that he would eventually remember everything. She smiled slightly at the thought.

"Gaara, have you had any other dreams like this?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, ones where you're... um... floating. Or maybe fighting?"

Gaara cocked his head to the side, thinking. A moment later he said, "Yes. I remember one where I was fighting someone, and I think I was using sand to do it."

"Tell me about it."

He closed his eyes and Sakura saw his body relax as he tried to remember. He stayed there like that for awhile, then he opened his eyes and stared at her.

"There was someone I was fighting," he said. "I think that he was kicking a lot. I was in the air, but not because of my sand. I think _he _did it."

"What did he look like?" Sakura encouraged.

Gaara shrugged. "I can't see his face," he admitted. "But there's a lot of green."

Lee. It had to be Lee, when the two of them fought in that first chuunin exam. She let out a whoosh of breath. There was hope, she knew, for him to remember everything. Maybe at this rate, she'd have him home quicker than she thought! Shifting closer to him, she readied herself to tell him about his life before his memory loss.

"You were fighting a friend of mine," she told him. "Rock Lee. It was at the chuunin exams, and the two of you were facing off."

"Chuunin exams?"

Sakura sighed. "It's an exam for gennin," she told him. "Like a competition. We're both ninja, trained to defend our villages. I became a medic, though I still go on missions."

Gaara looked sooo confused at the moment, and she sighed. "Ninja?" he asked.

"Yes. You remember when I first got here? I disappeared, then reappeared behind you?"

He nodded, so she continued, "That was a ninja technique. By utilising chakra, we can do many things that other people cannot."

"Chakra?"

Sakura almost rolled her eyes. Sure, she knew he'd forgotten everything, but having to explain these things to Gaara, of all people, like he was a fist year academy student, was totally weirding her out. She really believed that somewhere inside him, all this knowledge was still there. She just had to remind him about it all. An idea entered her brain, and she smiled.

"Would you like to learn to meditate?" she asked, continuing at his blank look, "It's when you relax your body and look inside yourself. It strengthens mental capabilities, and was very useful to you in the past when you weren't able to sleep."

"Because of Shukaku," Gaara said, and Sakura nodded.

* * *

This meditation thing sounded... interesting, to say the least. Maybe it _would _help him to remember. What she'd said about ninja's had perked Gaara's interest, and he wanted to know if he would be able to do things like she had. He just knew that there were a lot of things that a person could do when they were a ninja. He didn't know how, but he did. Maybe it was like the memory-dream with the green guy, and he'd remember it all eventually.

"What do I do?" he asked, and she smiled.

Sakura stood and reached out, grabbing hold of his hand. She led him through the trees to the water and sat the two of them down next to it. Once they were seated she spoke to him.

"Close your eyes," she said, and he did. "Now, relax your body, let your mind empty of thoughts and make sure you remember to breathe, too."

Gaara closed his eyes, his mate being the last thing he saw before he did. Unsure really of how to do this, he released a great sigh and tried to relax. It wasn't working, though. A giggle sounded, and he cracked an eye open to see that Sakura was laughing.

"What?" he demanded crossly.

"I'm sorry," she told him, "but you were kind of grimacing! Gaara, you're supposed to be relaxing, not trying to strain yourself!"

"I'm trying to relax!" he growled, but she shook her head.

"Don't try," Sakura told him. "Just do it."

Gaara sighed again and closed his eyes once more. Don't try? Just how the heck do you do something without even trying? This was proving to be more difficult than he'd assumed, and it was worrying him more than a little. According to Sakura, he'd done this before, and often, too. So shouldn't something just click in him and he should be able to do it?

"Gaara," came his mate's sweet voice. "Stop thinking and just relax."

He opened his eyes briefly to glare at her, then he shut them again and forced himself to relax… That worked better. But still, even though he could now feel his body relaxing, his mind was _not _clearing. Gaara could hear his breathing even out, and even felt his grip on his knees relax, but his mind was another matter entirely. Was this even going to work?

Time passed and still his mind wasn't clearing all the way. But every now and then, his brain would fall silent before a stray thought came along to ruin it. Eventually Sakura disturbed his lack of progress, and he noticed that the sun was nearly setting.

"Sorry for disturbing you," she told him, "but you need to eat. You can try again afterwards."

Gaara looked around and saw that food had already been prepared. Sakura brought a plate over to him and held it out, watching as he took it from her and began to eat. When he was done, she sat next to him and kissed him lightly, which he wasn't pleased with, so Gaara pulled her closer and deepened it, glad when she eagerly responded to him. His hands began to wander as he felt heat for mating rise in him, but then she pushed him away.

"Uh-uh!" she told him. "Meditating first."

* * *

The look he gave her was one of pure desire, but Sakura forced herself to concentrate. Already, Gaara'd made a lot of progress today, she saw how he was so relaxed in his meditative state. If this all worked, then the old Gaara would be back with them in no time. But then a terrible thought occurred to her. What if the old Gaara didn't want her the way the new Gaara did? Could she bear the rejection that that would inevitably bring?

But she'd promised Temari and Kankurou that she'd bring their brother home to them, and she would not go back on her word. So, despite the rejection that she'd suddenly realised was a very real possibility, Sakura decided to continue this way.

Pulling back from the kiss, Sakura chastised, "Uh-uh! Meditating first."

Gaara glared at her again, like he'd done earlier, giving her proof that the old him was still in there somewhere. So she got him into the same pose as before, and watched as he closed his eyes. Sakura could feel his breathing relax, watched as his body did too, and had to repress the urge to reach out and touch him. All day she'd been wanting to, but had forced herself to ignore her urges.

Once again, Sakura could tell that Gaara was thinking too hard. "Stop thinking," she told him. "Empty your mind of all your thoughts."

For many more hours she sat there watching him, fascinated as he slowly succeeded in what he was trying to do. Sakura could tell this because her skills as a medic allowed her to read people's bodies this way. Gaara was definitely meditating now, and a small smile appeared on her lips. Well into the night she watched him until she fell asleep. When the morning came, she found herself with her head in his lap, and she carefully removed herself without disturbing him.

Sakura began to prepare breakfast, fully intending on rousing him so that he could eat something when she felt a slight chakra flare. It had come from Gaara, and she turned to see that his face was twitching slightly. She moved forward, a little hesitantly, and touched his shoulder.

Gaara's eyes flew open, and in that instant, Sakura knew something was wrong. "Gaara?" she asked. "Are you alright?"

The instant the words were out of her mouth, Gaara's eyes narrowed, and Sakura gasped when they turned yellow, the irises a diamond shape. "You stupid little kunoichi!" he hissed. "You should have left well enough alone!"

"Gaara!" Sakura yelled. "Please! You have to fight this! Fight _him_!"

His eyes began to flicker back and forth between yellow and jade. Gaara grasped his head in his hands and began to moan in agony. Sakura came forward and pulled him into her arms. He struggled to throw her off, but she used chakra to keep a hold of him.

"No! NO!!!" he screamed. "I won't let you… NO!!!"

"Please Gaara!" Sakura cried. "Fight him! Come back to me!"

This was all wrong! How could Shukaku be doing this? Meditation was supposed to give Gaara control,_ not_ the tanuki! She held on tightly as he squirmed and shook beneath her, and when he was still, Sakura hoped it was all over.

"Gaara?"

He stiffened at the sound of her voice, then whispered harshly, "I hate you for this."

He disappeared in a whirl of sand and Sakura fell forward, clutching herself and crying tears of agony.

**Heartbreaking ending! Oh, whatever will happen? I already know, and when I get around to writing and then posting the next chapter, and final one at that, then so will you. Review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I got the last chapter done! Um… some people seemed to be confused about what happened last chapter. What happened was that when Gaara meditated, it opened the way for his memories to return, but also allowed Shukaku to have his own say as well. I probably should have said this, but I got the idea from a Stargate episode where this girl named Anna was a genetic hybrid clone thing that rogue NID agents created, and when she meditated, her Goa'uld DNA caused her to freak out.**

**Anyway, weird explanations aside, I hope you enjoy the last chapter!**

**I don't own Naruto.**

**Chapter Nine**

"Gaara!!"

Sakura screamed his name out, but it was no good, he was gone. She couldn't even sense the slightest trace of the chakra that had flared moments before he'd vanished. So what was she going to do? Hugging her arms to her side, she fell to her knees and wept. She wept for Gaara, for everything he'd been through. She wept for Temari and Kankurou, what the hell was she going to tell them? And she wept for herself.

Collapsing against the spot Gaara had been sitting before he'd taken off, Sakura let all her tears out, howling out her anguish. Normally she wouldn't allow herself to become so affected by another, especially not after all that had happened to her, but somehow she'd broken her own rules. And it hadn't been unintentional. She'd done it deliberately. What the hell had she been thinking?

Once her tears were spent, she stood shakily on her feet. Maybe she was overreacting, maybe he was going to come back? Where else would he go? To Suna? Suddenly Sakura realised that that was a real possibility. It occurred to her that maybe he freaked out because he _remembered. _Was that what had happened? But then again, maybe Shukaku was in control. Gaara's last words came back to haunt her, _I hate you for this._

Would Gaara have said that? Maybe, there was no way for her to know. She hadn't lied when she'd told him that they hadn't known each other well before all this. All that Sakura had known about the red head was second hand knowledge from Naruto and Temari, and very little from her own few encounters with him. In fact, if it weren't for the recent events, Sakura would probably _still_ not know him very well.

With tears still in her eyes, Sakura stood and walked back to the camp. Two days. She'd wait here two days, and if Gaara still didn't come back by then, then she would go to Suna and tell his siblings that she'd failed them.

* * *

The gates of Suna came into sight, and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Gaara hadn't shown, so she had left. The guards on duty saw her and waved her through, and she wondered if they'd been given orders to let her through by Temari and Kankurou. In any case, when she reached the Kazekage building, they already knew she was here.

"Sakura! You're back!" Temari exclaimed, rushing forward to hug her.

"Where's Gaara?" Kankurou asked, and Temari pulled away, looking around expectantly.

"I-I'm sorry," Sakura stuttered out, and tears welled in her eyes, falling down her cheeks.

"What happened?" Temari asked. "Is Gaara alright?"

"I-I don't k-know where he is!" the pinkette said, hiccupping a little. "I was trying to get him t-to m-meditate, b-but he panicked a-and took off!"

"Panicked?"

Sakura nodded. "I'm s-sorry."

Temari sighed and stepped back. "So he's gone again?" she asked, and Sakura nodded once more.

"It's alright," Kankurou reassured her, awkwardly patting her back. "You did your best. No one's going to blame you."

But she did blame herself. It was her fault, after all, since she was the one who'd gotten him to meditate in the first place. If it hadn't been for her insistence, then Gaara wouldn't have freaked out the way he had and run off. But it was still bugging her as to why he'd run. Was it because he'd remembered? Had the meditation sparked his memories and that was why he'd done a runner? In any case, Sakura was going to remain miserable about it, no matter what anyone said.

"I think we should tell the elders now," Temari suggested.

"Why?" Kankurou asked. "There's really no point. He's gone, so there's nothing _to_ tell."

"But if they find out, they'll be pissed."

"Who's going to tell them?"

"You should tell them."

The two siblings stopped their little banter to look at Sakura. She was staring out towards the desert, a slightly far-off look in her eyes. She continued to stare a moment then turned to them, her tone and gaze serious.

"Temari's right, you have to tell them," she said. "If only to let them know that he's still alive, still able to be saved."

The look in her eyes had both of their heart-strings being played like violins, and that was when understanding dawned in Temari's eyes. "You love him," she said, earning a slight gasp from her brother as he also searched Sakura's eyes.

The pinkette simply nodded and looked away again. There was silence for awhile, then Kankurou said, "Alright, we'll tell them. But you're coming too, Sakura."

* * *

The circle of elders was slightly intimidating to Sakura, and sitting at the side while Temari explained everything that had happened, she felt a renewed sense of loss. Gaara should be here to take his rightful place, and it was wrong that he wasn't. She'd failed to bring him back, and that was something that was going to haunt her for a long time. In the meantime, though, the elders had finished listening and had decided to have their say.

"You should have told us!" one of them said.

"We needed to make sure that he could be brought back," Kankurou said. "If we'd told you, you would have rushed in and scared him off! Unless that's what you wanted, of course?"

"Do not speak to us like that!" one of them snapped. "We would not have rushed in! However, we also would not have sent one _medic_ in with just the hope of retrieving him! What the two of you allowed to happen may put us all in danger! We do not know how stable his mind is with the Shukaku inside him!"

That really caught Sakura's attention and her head shot up as her brain tried to reconcile the image of the sweet, innocent Gaara with the unstable menace they were suddenly trying to paint him as. They really had no idea just what that demon had done to his mind…

"You should know better than to keep something like this from us! You know very well that the Shukaku's return is a threat to all of us!"

A threat? They seriously saw their former Kazekage as a threat?

"He's not a threat!" Temari yelled. "Sakura spent all that time with him trying to get him to remember, and he didn't attack her! She even said that he slept, which means that the demon doesn't have control!"

"But she said he went crazy and attacked her!"

"No she didn't! She said he panicked and fled! Are you just looking for an excuse to hunt him down and contain him?"

There was silence and it became apparent that that was what they really wanted. "I don't believe this," Kankurou muttered. "You really do just want to string him up without a second thought!"

"You have no idea what you're saying, boy!" another elder sneered. "That demon is a menace! A threat to us all!"

"Shut up!"

Everyone stared at the person who'd snapped at the elder like that. It was Sakura, and she looked livid.

"How dare you talk about Gaara like that!" she raged. "After all he's done for this village, how dare you? He's not a threat to your stupid hides! Shukaku can't take control of him, ok?! You have no right to speak about him like that!"

Standing up rather suddenly and knocking over the chair she'd been sitting in, Sakura stormed out of the room, desperately trying to stop the tears that were already falling. Temari glared at the assembled elders before rushing out to her friend.

"You guys really don't know how to move on, do you?" Kankurou asked with a resigned sigh. "You still see him as a threat, even when he's proven not to be. The lot of you should be tried for treason with the way you've talked about him this whole time, and I'm not just talking about today."

"Is that a threat, Kankurou-sama?" one of them asked.

"It's a simple fact," he told them. "Any other village would hang you out to dry. I don't know why the hell Gaara never did, but he should have."

With that, he too stood and made his way out of there, leaving the elders to mutter and mumble over all that had happened.

* * *

Sakura was in the room she'd been assigned, packing the clothes that had been unpacked once already. Sure, Temari and Kankurou had said that she could stay for awhile, but there was no point, and the sooner she got out of here, the better. Everything just made her think of Gaara, and she was so heartbroken that it was killing her inside. Sniffling a little, she folded her shirt and carefully placed it in her bag.

She knew the moment that Temari got there because the woman wasn't hiding her chakra signature, and before she could help herself, she was flinging herself into the older woman's arms and sobbing hysterically. The blond woman patted her back reassuringly and made little 'there-there' sounds.

"It's alright," she soothed.

"It's _not _alright," Sakura mumbled.

"Hey!" Temari asked jokingly. "Are you disagreeing with me? Because let me tell you, I know what I'm talking about!"

"Really?"

"Really."

Once she was sure the younger woman had calmed down enough, Temari pulled away and said, "You know, maybe Gaara did remember, and he'll come back. That could happen, you know."

"I don't know," Sakura mumbled. "He told me he hates me. Why would he care? Even if he does come back, he won't want to see me."

"How could you say that?" Temari demanded. "He obviously wasn't thinking straight when he said those words. Trust me, Gaara doesn't actually hate you."

"If you say so," Sakura mumbled, slinging her finally packed bag over her shoulder.

Temari gave her another reassuring hug and the two of them walked out of there. As they walked through the streets, Sakura thought over all that had happened with her and Gaara, and she sincerely hoped that he would come home, if only for his sibling's sakes.

* * *

Temari and Kankurou had said goodbye to her at the gates then left, knowing that she wanted a moment to compose herself before she actually left. Sakura sighed as she stared out at the vast expanse of the desert, Suna at her back. This was really it, she was really leaving. One day she hoped to once again see Gaara, even if he didn't love her the way she'd accepted that she loved him. It had been hard for her to admit to herself to loving anyone, but she'd done it. And now she was alone again.

She sighed once more. Losing people she loved, and she meant _love, _not friend or family love, was something that was getting to be a habit for her. She'd loved Sasuke, or at least thought she had, and he'd walked out and abandoned her and Konoha. And then during the war… Sakura caught herself up on her thoughts, stiffening her spine. Her first two loves were lost to her, both of them made their choices that led to their inevitable deaths. She didn't want to think about it.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, counted to ten, then opened them. About to take her first step away from here, she froze when something caught her gaze. Someone was coming. She could see a figure walking towards Suna's gates making no attempt to hide themselves. Sakura's breath caught in her throat when she realised that she recognised the way this person was walking, the shape and the build of their silhouette. Indeed, when they got even closer, she could make out the red tint of their hair.

Gaara. It was Gaara. The guards on duty obviously recognised him too, because one of them whispered to another and Sakura was sure she heard the words 'Temari' and 'Kankurou'. But that didn't matter to her. All that mattered was that _he _was coming. She stood there, unable to move as he eventually stood before her, close enough for her to reach out and touch him. But she didn't.

"Sakura," he murmured, then his gaze flickered to her bag briefly. "You're leaving."

"I-I thought…" Sakura stammered slightly, then took in a shaky breath before continuing, "You took off. I waited, but then I had to come here. I couldn't stay after what you said…"

Gaara's eyes closed briefly, but then he opened them and told her, "I'm sorry. It was _his _words, not mine."

The two of them stood there staring at one another, giving their audience, which was steadily growing, the impression that they were drinking in the sight of one another. Then Temari and Kankurou arrived, and the tension increased as Gaara seemed to drag his eyes away from Sakura to meet that of his siblings. There was only the briefest pause, then the eldest flung herself at her returned sibling and a moment later there was a rather furious three-way group hug going on.

"I missed you so much!" Temari wailed as she hugged Gaara tightly.

He simply grunted, his gaze moving over to Sakura. The pinkette looked distinctly uncomfortable, and he pulled himself away from his siblings to pull her into a hug. Her eyes widened slightly and she hesitated, but a moment later she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back.

"I love you," Gaara whispered in her ear. "Please don't leave."

"I won't leave," Sakura whispered back. "I love you too."

The four of them walked back into Suna, a parade of people following them. Sakura just knew that this was the beginning of a happy ending.

**So, textbook happy ending, and make sure you review, ok?**


End file.
